


In Beauty There Is Certain Death...

by the17thmuse



Series: Song and Ash, Sword and Ruin [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Apocalyptic entity, Death cult scripture, Gen, Implied fanaticism, Poetry, References to death worship, Super vague references to Temerdul's past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:33:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29939694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the17thmuse/pseuds/the17thmuse
Summary: Found among the possessions of Sarunarian Das, Grandmaster of the Order of the Sons of Scion, is a translated poem originally recorded (and improbably written) by the technomancer Parthos, a tracker and historian, dated during the aftermath of the Daemon's Blood Wars**...
Series: Song and Ash, Sword and Ruin [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568137





	In Beauty There Is Certain Death...

_For who may dare behold [Siridaris] and her ilk_

_With naught but voiceless awe and great despair?_

_For no comfort may be found in her beauty_

_And her luminous visage brings only death._

_Her eyes are inhumane spherules of turquoise._

_An ocean of poisoned daggers are her teeth._

_Her subtle smile is an edict of cruelty_

_And her proud stature, a pillar of defiance._

_Her bones are metal forged in primordial darkness_

_And her flesh is carved from the brightest crystal._

_Her winding spine is a river of icy thorns_

_And her tail, a riband of brilliant diamonds._

_Her form is that of the dreaded dragon,_

_Yet her physique is as sensual as a woman's charms._

_Her movements are that of a graceful dancer,_

_That of a partisan of meticulous enchantment._

_Her armored bosom hides a pulsing fire_

_And her ribs are a gilded cage of stone,_

_And her heart is an endless looming chasm_ —

_A graveyard for the countless corpses of stars._

_Her claws are sharper than even tempered swords_

_That many an ambitious farrier may envy;_

_Her curvature is a reckless man's temptation_

_And her boon, a prize that brings forth entire armies._

_Her wings are veils of frosty quartz and lightning,_

_And when outstretched, leave half a world in winter*._

_Her whispering voice holds barbs of cold azote_

_And her roaring cry begets a crack of thunder._

_Her splendor makes a grievous mockery of rulers_

_And the sovereign are made a meager plaything._

_She finds amusement in mortal men's misfortunes,_

_Her delight so dire that even gods would tremble._

_The very heavens burn upon her presence_

_And crumbling sand turns into molten glass;_

_The churning seas evaporate to steam_

_And lavish earth, reduced to naught but ashes._

_The breath of life she finds both strange and piquing,_

_Yet she guards her own like a jealous mother._

_Her wrath may come as a ruinous storm,_

_But her kindness is an even worse transgression._

**Author's Note:**

> Siridaris - the first _Deivorer_ (Star-eater), the White Death, Pale Angel and Brightstar; also known as Ciradris, Siridaria, and Sha'dris/Shadrese  
> spherules - small spheres  
> riband - (archaic) ribbon  
> gilded - (archaic) smeared with blood  
> farrier - blacksmith  
> winter* - nuclear winter  
> azote - (archaic) nitrogen
> 
> Daemon's Blood Wars** - also known as the War of Sundered Stars; the earliest referenced event the death entity known as Siridaris appeared in. A long-standing legend once spoke of a dying 'knight' who managed to establish communications and rapport with the death entity. Enlightened (or driven mad) by the encounter, the man became deathless and went on a 'pilgrimage' of deicide, until eventually founding the First Sons of Scion Victus (that eventually became the Scion Secundus Knights of the Black Sun).
> 
> Some accounts argued that there were _two_ knights in the legend, a pair of brothers: one dead and the other, dying. Technomancer historian Parthos later hypothesized there were, at best estimate, twenty-nine 'deathless' knights in all existence by cross-referencing all reports/sightings of Scion Victus knights wearing the sigil of the Star-eating Dragon.
> 
> Unfortunately, Parthos' research was left inconclusive when the historian was reported missing in action.


End file.
